Ship-protector.



e. N. ANDRICOPOULOS..

SHIP PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22. 1916.

Patented Oct. 2,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- 0 oo oo oo oo 6 0 00'00 oo oo o attozmu k G, N.ANDRICOPOULOS.

SHIP PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22. I916.

Patented Oct. 2, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

GDOIGI H. ANDBICOPOULOS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHIP-PROTECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 191 '7.

.pplication filed November 22, 1915. Serial No. 132,887.

v To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonon N. ANDRIOO- POULOS, 'a subject of Greece,residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden, State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inShip- Protectors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which-it appertains to make and use thesame. I

This invention relates to improvements in ship protectors andparticularly to devices for protecting ships from injury. fromtorpedoes, mines, icebergs, rocks, and other like objects which wouldcause the formation of holes in the hull'of the ships and the sinkingthereof.

One object of the present invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which is arranged to be secured to the sides of a ship belowthe water line and which is dis: posed a suitably spaced distance fromthe sides of the hull to cause the explosion of a torpedo far enoughaway from the ship to prevent any injury to the ship.

Another object is to provide a device of this character which can bequickly and easily raised to lie in inoperative position against thesides of the ship, at times, and lowered to a point below the water lineto fully protect the sides of the ship at times.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which can be applied to any of the war ships or merchant shipsnow in use without any modifications of the ships.

Other objects andadvantages will be apparent from the followingdescription when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a side elevation of a ships hull showing myinvention ap plied thereto and in lowered or operative position.

Fig. 2 is atop plan view of one side of the ships hull showing thedevice in the position of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of one of the suspending arms andfragments of the armor plates connected therewith.

one end of a series of chains 13.

is suitably supported in the bearing brackets Fig. 6 is an enlarged sideelevation of the parts shown in Fig. 5, partly in section.

It is well known that the injury to a ships hull by a torpedo is due'tothe fact that the explosion of the torpedo takes place against the sideof the hull. If the torpedo could be made to explode a few feet from theside -of the hull the danger of an opening being blown in the hull wouldbe reduced to a minimum. It is the particular object of the presentinvention to provide a device which will receive the impact of thetorpedo and cause the explosion of the same at such a distance from theside of the ship that .the latter will not be injured.

The same is true when the ship strikes aniceberg, a submerged reef orrock, or other hard submerged object. With a protector which is spacedfrom the sides of the ships hull a suflicient distance to receive theimpact, the hull will be effectively protected from injury.

The above objects are attained by means of the device illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiment of theinvention is shown.

Referring particularly to the accompanying drawings, 10 represents thehull of a ship in connection with which my invention is used. Mounted onthe deck or other suitable point adjacent the side of the ship, is a ofgrooved wheels 12, to which are secured The shaft 14. At the front andat the rear of the ship are the shorter shafts 15, which are connectedto the adjacent ends of the shaft 11 by the universal joints 16. One endof one of the short shafts is suitably connected to an engine or motorof suitable design for rotating the shafts.

On the sides of the hull, approximately coincident with. or slightlyabove the water line, are secured a plurality of brackets 17, andpivotally mounted on these brackets are the arms 18. On the outer end ofeach of these arms there is secured an angle member 19. There are threeor more horizontal rows of brackets 17 and attached arms 18, and securedto the said angle members by their vertical edges are the protectivearmor plates 20, said plates being arranged in overlapping relation butspaced a )art, as clearly seen in the sectional views.

ecu red to each of the plates by the same means which secure the platesto the angle members, are the channel members 21, and secured to theouter portions of the channel members are the other vertical edges ofthe armor plates. Thus the plates stand in vertical planes but inclinedoutwardly and rearwa rdly from the sides of the ship. Thebefore-mentioned chains are secured to rings carried by the upper endsof certain of the uppermost of the armor plates It will be noted thatthe general contour of the whole armored section is in COIl'fOI'Hlitywith the outline of the hull of the ship, and is arranged in spacedparallel relation to the sides thereof.

As seen in Fig. l, the armored section is raised into inoperativeposition. In this position the plates lie close to the sides of the hulland thus do not in any Way impede the progress of the ship. W hen in theposition of Fig. 3 the arms are in full lowered position and the armorplates in proper spaced distance from the sides of the ship. Theseplates, when in lowered position, are disposed a distance of severalfeet from the ships side, and when a torpedo strikes the armored sectionthe torpedo will explode at that distance tromthe ship, thus effectivelyprotecting the ship from injury.

It will be noted that each of the brackets 17 is formed with a shoulder23 on which the arm 18 rests so as to be supported in a horizontalposition from the side of the ship.

fie pies of this patent may be obtained for It will also be noted thatthe armored sections are disposed below or at the water line of theship, that is the upper edges of the plates are disposed above the waterline, while the greater portion of the armor is disposed below the lineand extends as low as the ships heel, or close thereto. The whole forceof the explosion of a mine or torpedo or the impact of a rock or icebergwill be sustained by the armored sections of the device, thus preventingcontact of the submerged object with the hull of the ship.

By means of the shaft and the connecting chains, the sections can bequickly and easily lowered or raised as desired, the sections beinglowered when the ship approaches a danger Zone, and raised when the zonehas been passed.

What is claimed is:

A protection device for a ship comprising armored sections eachconsisting of a plurality of vertical plates inclining outwardly andrearwardly from the ship, angle members between and securing the platestogether, and pivoted arms carried by the ship and pivotally connectedto the -sections, whereby said sections are capable of being raised andlowered.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE N. ANDRICOPOULOS.

Witnesses:

NICK. Anacnosroronnos, NATE. M. HARVEY.

five cents each, by addressing fiennnissioner of l atentc Washingtcn,Ill. (2.

